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[cormack12]

The more I think about it, I'd love to see Sony or MS really commit to being a proper competitor in the handheld space with Nintendo with their own 1st party handheld exclusives.

Not just for titles like Genshin and ZZZ but also imagine if the library on a handheld was just different to the console space.

MS could make handheld exclusive Kameo, Banjo, Conker, Viva and even some of their IPs that don't translate well to consoles like Crackdown.

Sony have a much bigger catalog to call on but things like wipeout, twisted metal, motorstorm, Jak, Starhawk, Medievil etc.

I don't think just being able to play your console games and 3rd parties with lower fidelity is such a strong selling case. All Nintendo Switch are played as a handheld but most aren't used as portable I'd guess. I mean some people will take them on trips when they go and holiday but mostly play at home. It's the IP that is the strength.

 

[kremit]

Reviving this because it looks a like a debate worth having.

I migrated from Xbox to a Steam Deck last Christmas. The Steam Deck has everything my Xbox can do and is financially low maintenance (No Xbox live). On top of that, I'm still having fun finding lots of stuff and features crammed into it. It feels alive when compared with my former Xbox and feels well-crafted.

I do not like the Switch but that seems to be a trend I have with Nintendo products (I seem to like every second console and hate the other) but it's IP library mops the floor. I want to see competition instead of "let's make money from the PC market" copout that both Sony and Xbox are currently doing. There is almost zero reason for me spending money on an Xbox or Playstation rn when I have a accessible handheld that can play all of what they can play and more.

 

[Woopah]

No.

Dev times and costs are too long and companies can no longer support multiple ecosystems. Nintendo learned that with Wii U and 3DS and Sony learnt that with PS4 and Vita.

From now on the handheld/home/hybrid consoles have to share the same ecosystem.

 

[DownLikeBCPowder]

The more I think about it, I'd love to see Sony or MS really commit to being a proper competitor in the handheld space with Nintendo with their own 1st party handheld exclusives.

Not just for titles like Genshin and ZZZ but also imagine if the library on a handheld was just different to the console space.

MS could make handheld exclusive Kameo, Banjo, Conker, Viva and even some of their IPs that don't translate well to consoles like Crackdown.

Sony have a much bigger catalog to call on but things like wipeout, twisted metal, motorstorm, Jak, Starhawk, Medievil etc.

I don't think just being able to play your console games and 3rd parties with lower fidelity is such a strong selling case. All Nintendo Switch are played as a handheld but most aren't used as portable I'd guess. I mean some people will take them on trips when they go and holiday but mostly play at home. It's the IP that is the strength.

Yes, just imagine how things were only 15 years ago! I miss two independent eco systems, but don't think we are ever going back there.

 

[hououinkyouma00]

Absolutely not.

The only way to directly compete would be to reverse everything they've done since the beginning of their respective companies which is create powerful flagship home consoles. The PSP and Vita made sense in their time, but it wouldn't make sense to do a dedicated handheld now. Nintendo have it perfect because they stopped chasing power over 20 years ago (Wii released 19 years ago but the decision to not make a standard console would have been made years prior) so a hybrid console works out.

PlayStation and Xbox make powerful consoles that aren't possible as a handheld/hybrid so they would literally need to go backwards roughly 10 years to compete.

The correct strategy is to release companion devices i.e. a handheld console that isn't meant to really be a separate pillar of their business (as in GBA/GameCube and PSP/PS2-3). There is nothing saying that somebody could simply purchase the PSP2 or Xbox handheld instead of the PS5/6 or Series X/X2 as they will simply play the same games as lower specs but the majority of people would probably buy them in addition to their consoles similar to how I'd be willing to bet the vast majority of handheld gaming PC/Steam Deck owners own a PC as well.

 

[ShadyAcshuns]

They should all just play to their own strengths, and not chase and imitate the hot commodity, while offering different people, different things.

 

[BlackTron]

It feels like the only easy scenario for them is a handheld that plays an entire class of titles such as PS4 or Xbox One games, but that's pretty meh.

If they try to have it play modern games too, there will be compromises and developer headaches. So walking into Series S 2.

Nintendo weaved through this issue deftly without leaving the competition a clear path to follow it.

 

[AndrewRyan]

Don't know what's the best business strategy for them but as a gamer I'm thrilled with how this sector is heating up.

 

[Killjoy-NL]

Sony should just continue to do what they do and MS should just pull out and become a full-fledged 3rd party.

Voila, a healthy industry:
PC, PS and Nintendo, all three thriving.

 

[Sevyne]

As much as I loved Sony portables, I do not trust them with another one after how they treated the Vita. Smaller 3rd party and indie devs are the only thing that kept that portable going and I am grateful for that, but Sony bailed almost instantly.

 

[yurinka]

I think that AAA every generation get more and more expensive, so they need to find new revenue sources. They've been focusing on expanding their business in high end consoles and PC, and seems that the next step are going to be portables and mobile gaming.

Yes, they'll put some game on Switch as a temporary thing, I think that soon they'll release their own PC handhelds and will put their portable gaming focus there. I think they won't do -and wouldn't make sense- games dedicated to portable consoles, but instead portables will get low end versions of their games, as happens right now on Steamdeck (or Series S).

 

[XERXES_89]

Sony has just finished kneecapping the PS5 by chasing the GAAS trend and They are ready to do the same with PS6 by chasing the handheld trend, aren't they? These companies are run by morons.

 

[Horseganador]

Sony and Xbox will have their portable consoles, but they will be part of the same "generation" of consoles. You will have a traditional PS6 desktop and a "portable PS6" with the same games and exclusives. Everyone will choose the model they want. Making exclusive games for each system is impossible at this point.

 

[GigaBowser]

more handhelds the beter

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

are you cray-cray? No.

these kind of questions are always baffling. it's like people don't have memory at all.

The real question is if Nintendo is going to be able compete another Play Station and Steam front facing assault.

 

[hououinkyouma00]

Sony has just finished kneecapping the PS5 by chasing the GAAS trend and They are ready to do the same with PS6 by chasing the handheld trend, aren't they? These companies are run by morons.

What company do you run that makes over $20B a year?

 

[RetroGamingUK]

Dev times and expenses are too high now

Neither Nintendo, Sony or Microsoft can sustain more than one gaming platform.

Releasing both a home console and a handheld that play the SAME games is the way forward.

 

[EN250]

Sony did compete once with the great PSP and instead of learning the lesson about media format, they doubled down and fumbled it bad + let the Vita die an slow and painful dead because their top devs and 3P devs wouldn't bother to make something for it

Still waiting for that Bioshock Vita...

 

[hououinkyouma00]

Sony did compete once with the great PSP and instead of learning the lesson about media format, they doubled down and fumbled it bad + let the Vita die an slow and painful dead because their top devs and 3P devs wouldn't bother to make something for it

Still waiting for that Bioshock Vita...

I think the Vita lasted longer than Sony wanted it to especially in the states. Sony wasn't even happy that Gio Corsi pulled out a Vita during one of their E3 conferences IIRC.

 

[reinking]

Sony has just finished kneecapping the PS5 by chasing the GAAS trend...

I have no idea why this keeps getting repeated but it is outselling the PS4. Did they have some failed software launches? Oh, hell yes, but the PS5 is not in trouble.

IMO, Sony needs to stay the course and utilize Portal-like devices for a portable device.

 

[ExtendEmbraceExtinguish]

Yes. Just in different ways.

Xbox = windows; eventually. Windows hh by asus = beta, portable by Xbox refined beta, full integration is Xbox submerged in windows pc/tablet/bing ect..
Play anywhere is your catalog going w you. End result is all windows devices are Xboxes. Thus windows hh w steam/xbox/cog/epic/emulators
The strength of this will be options for portables that essentially play everything.

Sony: ensuring ps ecosystem goes portable for members of that ecosystem. Strength potential ps5 portable to ps6 games.

 

[poppabk]

I don't think there is a need for portable specific games anymore. The form factor doesn't demand games designed for it in the way it used to as the power differentials have started to equalize.

 

[Mobilemofo]

Nah. Fuck em. Let them get on with their thing.

 

[Schmendrick]

If these handhelds do come out and do become mandatory to receive ports for everything we can kiss any progress goodbye for at least a decade......
No one should want such garbage hardware to come into existence

 

[Aldric]

They can't "compete directly with Nintendo". It's not just about making a handheld, you have to then support it with enough games that fit the kind of audience interested in this proposition. Nintendo have successfully cultivated such an audience with decades of popular franchises released on the GBA, DS and 3DS while Sony have completely bungled their handheld library and Microsoft never had one in the first place.

 

[Gambit2483]

They can't "compete directly with Nintendo". It's not just about making a handheld, you have to then support it with enough games that fit the kind of audience interested in this proposition. Nintendo have successfully cultivated such an audience with decades of popular franchises released on the GBA, DS and 3DS while Sony have completely bungled their handheld library and Microsoft never had one in the first place.

Exactly. Software sells hardware.

Imo Sony needs to just focus on making more consistent high quality titles that don't take forever to release and over $300M to produce. It's painfully clear that they screwed up this generation by putting way too much time and money into Live Service production Instead of diversifying their portfolio with a decent spread of quality AA titles.

And now, what? Make a handheld? As if that will somehow single-handedly solve their problems? Get a grip.

 

[Dacvak]

The era of true handhelds is over. It's much more fiscally viable to simply build you game with extreme scaling in mind.

I personally miss the PSP/Vita era of games, but it'll never happen again. It just doesn't make sense.

 

[PixelatedBeast]

Its less about chasing a trend, and more about giving the audience of their ecosystem something comparable, so they dont go to the compettitor. It keeps them from spending that money somewhere else. The Ps Portal isnt meant to compete with other stand alone devices. Its there to give Playstation users the feeling or usage of portability they might feel is missing when looking at the Steamdeck and Switch. Trying to chase the handheld mobile market would be a mistake. Its niche. Most of the money made from mobile gaming comes from app stores. Playstation users arent into cellphone games and vice versa. Capcom is learning that now with Resident Evil.

One of the main reasons why Nintendo is in the position they're in now, is because 3rd party publishers didnt want to dedicate time and resources to develop specific games for the WII U and Switch. It worked out for them in the end, but Sony has already been down the road, with the PS3 and PS Vita. Having a device that can play current gen console games without asking devs to go out of their way to make games or specific optimizations is the best way for Sony to move forward. Just keep making older titles available and eventually give us the ability to stream games from our own library.

Microsoft is facing a whole different battle, because there is no real benefit to a handheld device when the Steamdeck and other Pc handhelds already have Gamepass and their Steam library on the go. It makes more sense when you look at it from the perspective of them trying to retain their loyalists console owners, who would be tempted to buy Pc handheld the more they see Microsoft push toward becoming a 3rd party publisher, but I think the excitement for Xbox hardware is a thing of the past.

 

[Humdinger]

I'd prefer they not do that, because I'm not interested in handheld gaming. I don't want them splitting their resources or dividing their efforts. They already have enough trouble producing quality material in a timely manner for the normal console. Going after the handheld market would just dry things up further (at least for those of us who have consoles hooked to TVs).

 

[XERXES_89]

I have no idea why this keeps getting repeated but it is outselling the PS4. Did they have some failed software launches? Oh, hell yes, but the PS5 is not in trouble.

IMO, Sony needs to stay the course and utilize Portal-like devices for a portable device.

I am talking about gaming output not about financial reports. I am a gaming enthusiast, not an investor. The PS4 had three games from Naughty Dog, Sony's flagship studio. The PS5 is waiting until 2027 (7 years!) for a brand new Naughty Dog game. This is embarrassing.

 

[Griffon]

Sony could make a stupid bet and make the PS6 a hybrid. Like if they wait till 2030 maybe they can make it somewhat match the PS5 power. This would incur a huge power stagnation, but then again PS4 to PS5 was a fucking joke of a transition. Then from now on every subsequent console is a hybrid.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

Sony seem to be doing just fine with their approach, a home console with a separate accessory to play the home console remotely should the owner desire

No one cares what Microsoft will do because they will just screw it up lol

 

[LavitzSlambert]

Neither Sony nor Microsoft actually understand how to make a compelling handheld game anymore. I'd love for more competition in the segment, but indies, small publishers, and Nintendo seem to have it locked down.